NBA Central Recap: Bulls Exact ‘Revenge’ on Pacers

Joakim Noah/AP Images

Tyler Kenly discusses the ridiculousness of regular season storylines and the importance of keeping Joakim Noah from dancing.


By Tyler Kenly


NBA fans everywhere were fearful Monday night, not because of some bounty scandal or because of reports of drug use violations, but because there was a chance that one of the most horrific celebrations in recent memory might be resurrected. That is a moment that nobody wants to relive.

On January 25th, the Pacers beat the Bulls in Chicago and reacted in a way that didn’t sit too well with Bulls stars Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Rose responded by saying, “I'll never forget how they celebrated just from winning this game. I can't wait to play them again.” Really? A quality team got excited for beating the team with the best record in the NBA and you’re fired up about this? For no reason at all, there was now a giant red circle around March 5th, the day the Pacers would return to the United Center. 

All was well and fine, and most people forgot about this faux-controversy until Noah’s comments after a 96-91 victory over Philadelphia on Sunday night. “When people talk about celebration I just feel like, 'You're not going to out-celebrate me,'” said Noah. “Roy Hibbert cannot out-celebrate me. So if they want to see some celebration when we win, I can show them some celebration ... I know how to celebrate." Uh, oh. 

Would he really pull out the herky-jerky seizures that he called ‘dance moves’ if they won? Could the loud, animated Noah really out-celebrate the likes of Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert? Was this just a dumb way to hype up what would otherwise be considered a meaningless regular season game? Ambivalent handshakes! Reserved head nods! Quiet exchange of pleasantries! It’s the Bulls v. Pacers on Monday Night! 

Rose and the Bulls found themselves down at half, but a 33-13 run in the third quarter gave way to a blowout of the celebratees in favor of the celebrated. Noah had 9 points, 17 boards, and zero dance moves as the Bulls beat up on the Pacers 97-72. There was little retaliatory celebrations made by the Bulls, but all wasn’t for naught as late reports out of Chicago surfaced detailed a fan seated next to the Pacers’ tunnel who muttled ‘You stink’ under his breath as Roy Hibbert exited. 

Fans went back to their normal lives the best that anyone could after a routine NBA regular season game, thanking their lucky stars that Noah kept his horrendous convulsions to himself. The lesson as always: nothing really matters in the NBA until playoff time.